True Reason for Afghanistan’s Current State of Being

Afghan people hold values that have been used at their disadvantage by other countries. Numerous interventions have caused various problems in the country as a whole. Particularly, it has led to the economic backwardness of Afghanistan, numerous deaths, and wars that do not end. There is a clear indication that the values of the Afghan people are the main cause of problems that the country and its people are facing.

Discrimination is a common occurrence in Afghanistan. There exists a high income class that discriminates against the poor people in the society. This fact is evident from Khaled Hosseini’s book The Kite Runner. For example, Assef tells his son Amir that he should not interact with Hassan because he is from a different race (Hosseini 11). Discrimination exists even in the government as the governing party discriminates the rest of the society in terms of development and employment opportunities. As a result of such kind of discrimination, a coup against the government has been executed by communists to take power from rivals. Russia intervened in the conflict to help the communist party, which was removed from power, and used military force to attack people. Due to these instabilities, the Afghan people have no time to engage in constructive economic activities that would enable them to combat poverty (Rubin 75). Unstable political environment discourages investment, especially from foreign business people. Hence, people fail to receive even basic services such as healthcare in such politically unstable situations.

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Another cultural value common in the country is tolerance and support for violence in the society. Thus, in the storybook, Amir’s father is not happy that his son loses to his servant’s son (Hosseini 37), which shows that there is tendency to support violence against others in the country. The praise for violence has portrayed the people in Afghanistan as individuals who are ready to engage in violence against their neighbors at any time. Countries such as the United States exploited this feature of Afghans, financing rebel groups in Afghanistan to ensure that they fight against their rivals (Rubin 89). Such armed rebel groups have been the reason for heightened insecurity in the country, which has led to the destruction of important infrastructure and other important structures that augment the development of economies.

The culture of corruption, especially among the people with a position of power, has also been the reason for foreign intervention and suffering of many people. The corrupt regimes have been able to give foreign companies contracts to exploit local resources at the expense of local companies and people. The culture has meant that those with money can always get their wish. Hence, in the book, Amir is able to adopt a child from an orphanage only if he can give some money to an official taking care of the orphaned children. Additionally, high levels of corruption have denied the poor their rights as wealthy people are always able to bribe and resolve issues to their advantage It means that institutions such as the judiciary cannot function efficiently to ensure justice for everyone with due to a high level of corruption (Rubin 71). Investors, both local and international, find it difficult to invest in the country since they are not assured whether it will be a good environment for them to operate. Consequently, lack of investment means increased rate of unemployment, hence suffering for people in Afghanistan.

Donors also fail to finance development projects in countries such as Afghanistan because of corrupt systems in the country. Thus, when it comes to foreign aid, corruption also means that such funds do not benefit the most affected people such as orphans. Instead, leaders in various institutions always get means of pocketing money for their own benefit (Hosseini 152). Such a reality discourages donors from financing projects and activities that help support the poorest. On the other hand, the country cannot eliminate poverty without foreign aid. Thus, there are many unqualified employees in the country who cannot be fired because of corruption, which this makes it difficult for the government to develop policies that can benefit all people. Besides, corruption has made it easy for drug traffickers to operate in Afghanistan without being punished because they can give bribes to ensure they are not arrested. When the lives of the young people are destroyed because of drugs, it becomes difficult to exploit resources and improve the living standards of the society (Rubin 87). Therefore, corruption harms the young people because of drug trafficking and lack of investments in the country, which makes it difficult to realize their full potential and improve the economy of the country.

Revenge is another value that the Afghan people hold, which makes them vulnerable to manipulation. Thus, in Hosseini’s story, Assef seeks revenge on Hassan and thus beats him up. In any case, cowardice is highly discouraged in the society, and everyone has to prove their society that they are not cowards. Amir also fights with Assef after returning to Afghanistan to avoid being considered as a coward regardless of the fact that he was beaten up (Hosseini 193). The strive to revenge enabled foreign governments such as the United States to finance and support some groups that are in opposition to the government of Afghanistan, thus causing further instability in the country. Driven by pure revenge, many people fight against the government and ultimately die (Rubin 18). The death of many people in the society means that Afghanistan has lost its human resources, which could have been used to attain economic development.

Another cultural aspect of the Afghan society is that men do not value the role of women in the society. Thus, women are often abused, and their right to receive inheritance is denied. Gender discrimination hinders women from engaging in economic activities to improve their lives and the economy of the country in general. They are sometimes sold to the wealthy people in the society as a way of paying debts. The failure to support women has meant that the society lacks important leadership qualities that women possess. Furthermore, the country is deprived of experts needed in various sectors of the economy. The fact that the women are discriminated in the Afghan society means that they cannot participate fully in developing the economy of their country (Rubin 101). Human resource is thus understaffed because people are discouraged from pursuing a career based on their interest. As a result, both men and women are not able to advance in their careers and contribute to the society using their talents. Such lack of promotion of talents in the society hinders the well-being of the society.

In summary, development of a society is greatly shaped by its social and cultural values. In case of Afghanistan, issues such as corruption, social discrimination, urge for revenge, support for violence, gender discrimination and failure to support talents enabled foreign countries such as the United States, Russia and Pakistan to intervene and facilitate constant wars and conflicts, which are financed by various outsiders. This has the effect of increased suffering, poverty and destruction of property in the country. The current state of Afghanistan can thus be said to have been caused by the values that its people hold and foreigners constantly and successfully exploit.